Amendment 821, made retroactive by the Sentencing Commission, in part “limits the overall criminal history impact of ‘status points’ (i.e., the additional criminal history points given to defendants for the fact of having committed the instant offense while under a criminal justice sentence, including probation, parole, supervised release, imprisonment, work release, or escape status).”

For a long time, DeCedrick Walker thought of himself as damaged goods. Later, he used writing to help handle anger, depression, shame, and personal affronts.

Eugenicists argued that criminality was inherited and said the only way to stop the spread of crime was to stop criminals from reproducing. To accomplish this goal, they advocated for long prison sentences that would effectively prevent individuals from reproducing. Daniel Loehr urges criminal defense attorneys to use this disturbing history when representing clients charged under habitual offender laws to develop constitutional challenges and educate the court.

Originalism as the Defense Attorney's Friend: Expanding Sixth Amendment Rights

'Statutory' Enhancement by Judicial Notice of Danger: Who Needs Legislators or Jurors?

Presumptively Unreasonable: Using The Sentencing Commission's Words To Attack The Advisory Guidelines

Mitigation In The Death Belt - Twelve Steps To Saving Clients' Lives

A Former Probation Officer's Perspective

This month Deborah J. Blum reviews Alan Ellis’ Federal Prison Guidebook: Prison, Sentencing, and Post-Conviction Remedies (2025-2026 ed.) by Alan Ellis, Mark H. Allenbaugh, and Walt Pavlo.

To effectively advocate for immigrant clients, lawyers and criminal mitigation experts should uncover psychosocial information that pertains to defendants’ lives before coming to the United States and challenges encountered as first-generation immigrants.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Policy Statement allowing sentence reductions for defendants who received an “unusually long sentence” faces an uncertain future after the 2024 Third Circuit decision in United States v. Rutherford.

Elizabeth Unger Carlyle recaps the criminal, habeas, and prisoner civil rights cases of the 2024-2025 Term.

of the Trial Penalty

NACDL and advocacy groups are no longer alone in decrying draconian sentencing policies. With leadership coming from the top of the Justice Department and bipartisan support emerging in Congress, there is real hope that the United States may finally begin to undo the plague of mass incarceration.

The First Step Act was designed to incentivize prisoners to participate in recidivism-reducing programs and activities so that when released, they would return to their communities in a better position and would not reoffend and return to prison. So, where is the FSA going wrong?

for Defendants Who Received an ‘Unusually Long Sentence’

The Sixth and Seventh Circuits invalidated the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Policy Statement allowing for sentence reductions for defendants who received an “unusually long sentence.” At issue were “compassionate release” sentence reductions.